In 2019, Canada banned the captivity of whales, dolphins and porpoises for the purpose of entertainment, a move that was hailed by animal welfare campaigners around the world and which is part of a global shift away from the practice.
The charity World Animal Protection had been lobbying the Canadian government for several years on the issue, and its research into the harm caused to the aquatic mammals by captivity was key to the new law being drawn up and passed.
Cetaceans already in captivity, and those that need to be kept in order to care for them, are not affected by the law, but anybody who puts new cetaceans in captivity for public display will face fines of CA$200,000 (£116,000).
With members of the public around the world increasingly aware of the ethical and scientific arguments against the keeping of marine mammals, several countries have now either banned or heavily restricted the practice, including Brazil, India and the UK.
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In 2019, Canada banned the captivity of whales, dolphins and porpoises for the purpose of entertainment, a move that was hailed by animal welfare campaigners around the world and which is part of a global shift away from the practice.
The charity World Animal Protection had been lobbying the Canadian government for several years on the issue, and its research into the harm caused to the aquatic mammals by captivity was key to the new law being drawn up and passed.
Cetaceans already in captivity, and those that need to be kept in order to care for them, are not affected by the law, but anybody who puts new cetaceans in captivity for public display will face fines of CA$200,000 (£116,000).
With members of the public around the world increasingly aware of the ethical and scientific arguments against the keeping of marine mammals, several countries have now either banned or heavily restricted the practice, including Brazil, India and the UK.